A walk in the woods

It began when I expressed less than the required amount of faith in boyf's financial intentions for the future. This quickly snowballed into mistrust, and before I knew it, we were standing in an Area Of Outstanding Natural Beauty shouting unpleasantries whilst passers by admired the view. Woops.

Unable to concede to an apology and entering damage-limitation mode, I suggest we postpone our lovely autumnal walk, so as not to let the mood taint this beauty spot indefinitely. I set off in the direction of the car park. Boyf follows, at a distance of several paces, and we walk back to the car together but alone.

I attempt reconciliation, but mess it up but now there are more present to overhear our wranglings. I am excruciatingly embarrassed, and suggest we get into the car, hoping that half an inch of metal and glass all round will provide adequate sound insulation for the ensuing barney. Boyf however, does not want to get into the car. I reason. He is unrelenting. I warn him that I will have no option other than to drive off. Boyf does not get into the car. I retrieve his phone, keys and wallet, deposit them on a bench where he is sat and drive away.

This is quite unlike me. I wouldn't describe myself as stubborn (yes, but who does? Its unflattering), but with a sense of irony, I realise that's exactly his current perception. I pride myself on ability to think, discuss, reason and persuade. Debate. Cajole. Concede when in the wrong. But not this time. I drive off. For 15 minutes I circle the country lanes, thinking about what I have done... abandon my boyfriend in a wooded car park in the middle of nowhere, with no phone signal, no coat and no idea where he is.

Guilt overcomes me. I drive back and look for boyf. I head off in the direction we originally walked, wondering if he has done the walk without me.I pace out the entire walk and return to the car park. 1 hour and 15 minutes have now elapsed and no sign of boyf. I think about the non-existant phone signal, his complaints if he has to walk further than a mile (only previously tested on shopping trips - I am extrapolating from there). I am worried.

Then a text squeezes through to my mobile on less than 1 bar of signal. Its is from boyf who seems repentant. I reply, telling him I'm in the car park. Boyf says he is walking home. "Home" I estimate is a good 25 miles. I drive to find him, but can't, so I text back, asking for further identifiers (a 6-point grid reference or a SatNav in his pocket would both be of assistance at this point). He is silent.

30 minutes later, I receive another text, "Meet you in Costa". I am puzzled. The nearest Costa is in town. Almost 2 and half hours have elapsed since the abandonment. I drive past then park and when I reach Costa myself, he is standing in the queue.

He smiles. I smile. "Did you get the bus?" I ask. "No, I didn't", he defends, sounding slightly hurt. I do the maths and make it around 5 miles between the abandoment point and Costa. "I walked here. 5 miles. I followed the road signs and walked through the lanes, up the hill and eventually over the common. Then I recognised where I was and headed for town", he volunteers. I am very impressed.

Number 1: Boyf walked 5 miles.
Number 2: Boyf navigated from literally the middle of nowehere, to Costa.
Number 3: Boyf is buying me a coffee, with a smile on his face and shows no signs of damage after the aforementioned journey (other than extreme thirst, judging by the size of his drink). I am moved on several levels.

But what comes next moves me more. We spend an hour talking like adults over a coffee, in the manor we should have tackled all this in the first place. We're still in public, but this time nobody is overhearing us, and if they could, this time I'd be more than happy for them to overhear our sensible, mature, adult discussion.

We make up, talk about what lights each other's fuse, and work out a plan to reduce the likelihood of it happening in future. With a mature sense of satisfaction having eventually worked it out, we leave, hand in hand and walk back to the car.

He is vociferously proud of the 5-mile achievement. I calculate the distance involved in two laps of Bluewater shopping centre... 4.9 miles. Well there's a goal for the future :o)